KL Rahul to Act as Rohit Sharma's Deputy After Hardik Pandya's Exit From World Cup: Report

Wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul has been reportedly appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team for the remaining matches of the World Cup. Flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the tournament after an ankle injury as the BCCI has named Prasidh Krishna as his replacement, however, they didn’t announce the deputy to Rohit Sharma.

Meanwhile, according to a report on Indian Express, Rahul has been named the vice-captain after Hardik’s exit from the mega event.

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“The BCCI has appointed KL Rahul as the vice-captain of the Indian team for the remainder of the World Cup. He was informed about it on Saturday morning by chairman of selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, who is traveling with the team,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express.

Rahul has been a strong pillar in India’s ODI side with both bat and as a wicketkeeper. He has been preferred over Ishan Kishan as the wicketkeeper in the side and impressed many with his glovework and his assistance with the DRS to skipper Rohit Sharma.

Meanwhile, the Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 has approved Prasidh Krishna as a replacement for Hardik Pandya in the India squad.

Krishna, who has played 17 ODIs, was named as a replacement after Pandya was ruled out of the tournament, failing to recover from an injury to his left ankle during the league match against Bangladesh on 19 October.

Ahead of the England clash, KL Rahul talked about his thigh injury which kept him out of cricket for 4-5 months before the World Cup.

”I am a little sad about the injury that I had, it kept me out of the game for 4-5 months. That was a tough time.”

He also added, “Whoever has an injury, if you ask anyone – they undergo surgery and to come back, it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of patience and you have to go through that which is not very easy.”

Rahul was open regarding the time he picked up the injury and believes the ups and downs are part of the journey but his time out injured was a painful one.

“I can’t say that it is not in my mind. Yesterday when I came to the ground, last memory of this ground was falling down and injuring myself. Hopefully, I can put that aside and I can make some better and happier memories to forget all of that.”